Manhattan DA Bragg investigating Rep. Eric Swalwell for sexual assault

Molly Crane-Newman and Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News on Apr 11, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has opened an investigation into a sexual assault allegation against California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, the Daily News has learned.

The alleged assault occurred in a Manhattan hotel in 2024, as first reported by CNN. A former staffer of Swalwell said, after a night of drinking with him, she woke up to the heavily intoxicated rep having sex with her in his hotel bed, and that she refused him, telling him no, according to the report.

“I was pushing him off of me, saying no,” the woman said. “He didn’t stop.”

She said she was no longer working for Swalwell at the time of the incident.

The Manhattan DA office’s confirmed to The News, when asked, that it’s investigating the accusation — and that it’s asking anyone with information about it to come forward.

“We urge survivors and anyone with knowledge of these allegations to contact our Special Victims Division at (212) 335-9373. Our specially trained prosecutors, investigators and counselors are well-equipped to help you in a trauma-informed, survivor-centered manner,” a Manhattan DA spokesperson said in a statement to the The News.

The Manhattan investigation comes amid Swalwell staunchly denying sexual misconduct allegations from four women — including the one in the Manhattan incident — and calls from some within his own party for him to end his campaign for California governor. Swalwell was among the leading candidates to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is term-limited.

The other women accuse Swalwell of sending them unsolicited photos of his private parts and otherwise explicit messages or touching them inappropriately.

“These allegations of sexual assault are flat false. They’re absolutely false,” Swalwell said in a video posted online late Friday. “They did not happen. They have never happened, and I will fight them with everything that I have.”

The congressman acknowledged past mistakes and admitted he’s not “a saint,” but maintained any lapses in judgment of his are not only in the past but also private.

“I have certainly made mistakes in judgment in my past,” he said. “But those mistakes are between me and my wife and to her I apologize deeply for putting her in this position. I also apologize to you,” he told viewers, “if, in any way, you have doubted your support for me. But I think you know who I am.”